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Tuesday, March 24, 1992
Lifestyles
The Battalion
Page 7
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Senior plans to
sing in Nashville
after graduation
By Tracy McCarren
The Battalion
At this time of year, when
most Texas A&M seniors are
writing resumes and interview
ing for jobs, Mark Lee has his
mind set on Nashville and what
it might have in store for him.
Every Thursday night, Lee, a
civil engineering major from
Alvin, can be found at Kay's
Cabaret playing his guitar and
singing country music. From 10
p.m. to 1 a.m., Lee takes requests
and sings songs by artists such
as Hank Williams Sr., Jimmy
Buffet, Garth Brooks and Clint
Black. At the audience's ap
plause, a smile spreads across
his face - he is having fun.
As graduation nears, Lee's
plans are to move to Nashville
and try his luck at country mu
sic. "I know' it's going to
take total dedication to make it
in music, but I'd never forgive
myself if I didn't at least try,' he
said.
As far back as Lee can re
member, he has been listening to
country music. From listening
to his dad's collection of Hank
Williams Sr. albums to "picking
and grinning" HeeHaw-style at
family gatherings, he has been
exposed to country music.
It wasn't until after high
school graduation in 1986, that
Lee bought a guitar at the urg
ing of his best friend.
While attending Alvin Com
munity College, Lee took guitar
lessons and learned the basic
chords. From there, he started
playing everything he heard on
the radio. Since then, Lee has
been playing every chance he
gets at family gatherings and
parties.
Four years ago, he trans
ferred to Texas A&M, attracted
to the rural, down-home atmo
sphere. This past spring, Lee
got the job at Kay's Cabaret, his
first "paying gig."
Besides his regular Thursday
nights at Kay's Cabaret, he has
played at a wedding, at a frater
nity party and at University
Tower. The most unusual place
Lee has played is at the Love
Shack in downtown Bryan.
"The crowd was in leather
jackets and chains," Lee said.
Lee's guitar is covered with
signatures of today's hottest
country stars, like Travis Tritt,
Doug Stone, Clint Black and
Garth Brooks.
In 1990, when Garth Brooks
came to Bryan, Brooks not only
signed Lee's guitar, but he
pulled it out of the case and
sang "If Tomorrow Never
Comes" from start to finish.
"It was an incredible mo
ment that I will never forget,"
Lee said.
Things started rolling last
summer when Lee played at a
big party on Lake Conroe where
he met a record producer.
The producer invited him to
play at Willie Nelson's Golf In
vitational where he met song
writer, Alex Harvey. Harvey
DARRIN HILL/The Battalion
Country singer Mark Lee performs at Kay’s Cabaret on Thursday before spring
break. Lee hopes to start a country music career in Nashville after graduation.
has written songs such as "Delta
Dawn" for Tanya Tucker and
"Ruben James" for Kenny
Rogers.
Harvey told Lee that he had
talent, and if he was "willing to
work hard and put all other in
terests on hold," he might have
a shot in Nashville. He advised
Lee to finish school to leave op
tions open if he didn't make it in
music. Until then Lee said he
was never convinced he was
any good.
In May, equipped with Har
vey's advice, Lee is going to
move out to Nashville.
"I'm going to have to intro
duce myself to everyone," said
Lee. " I'll learn their names, and
hope they remember mine."
Course of Empire rocks
Stafford Opera House
By Kevin Robinson
The Battalion
Students who left for Spring
Break a few days early may have
missed one of the best Bryan- Col
lege Station shows of the year,
when the Stafford Opera House
featured the Dallas band. Course
of Empire.
Course of Empire has
emerged as one of the shining
new lights in the Texas music
scene. Combining elements of in
dustrial, metal, punk, and seven
ties art-rock, the band's self-titled
debut was released on the Carpe
Diem label a few years ago. For
an indie release, the recording
was remarkably polished and
earned accolades from several
members of the music press. It's
now been picked up for national
release by RCA. Although
Course of Empire has often been
accused of sounding too much
like "Love"- era Cult, the band
had no trouble proving their own
talents in their live set.
The evening began with a
short set by Choice of Diction. The
group is primarily a cover band
concentrating on modern rock
standards, particularly dance and
pop numbers. If success for a
covers band is how close to the
original they sound, then Choice
of Diction succeeds admirably.
They even managed to approxi
mate vocal style fairly well with
much of the material. The band
seemed slightly awkward when
attempting Front 242 and an early
Ministry single, but they excelled
at covering more mainstream
artists such as the Cure and De-
peche Mode.
After a short wait, and with
two large red flags dragged onto
the stage. Course of Empire made
their entrance. The band immedi
ately blasted into their set, not let
ting up until the end of the show
an hour and a half later.
The majority of the show con
sisted of material from the band's
first album. These songs may be
slightly mellow on the CD, but
gained a new intensity when per
formed live. This hard edge was
the most surprising aspect of the
night. Many bands put more
emotion and power into their
songs when they take the stage.
Course of Empire however, had a
stage presence that was simply
explosive.
Vaughn Stevenson, lead
singer, made a striking figure
with his hands clasped behind his
back and his teeth clenched.
Stevenson gave a mostly station
ary performance for most of the
show, in direct contrast to gui
tarist Mike Graff, whose stage ac
tion gave new meaning to the
word manic. To simulate the com
bination of drum machine and
live percussion on the band's
record, Anthony Headley and
Chad Lovell teamed up for a dou
ble drum section that provided a
ruthless pulse for the entire night.
The heavy slant of the debut's
tracks gave the material a fresh
quality. Avoiding much of the
low key songs such as "Moun
tains of the Spoken" and "Dawn
of the Great Eastern Sun," the
band gave an added strength to
tracks such as "God's Jig" and
"Peace Child."
Course of Empire seem to
want their live shows to produce
pure energy. None of the intelli
gence or subtlety in the lyrics was
lost, but the band wasn't content
to quietly ponder philosophically;
there's enough of that on the al
bum itself. Instead, the band
seemed to realize that live shows
need an added boost to familiar
songs. Course of Empire provid
ed that boost with a stage pres
ence and degree of showmanship
that not too many young bands
possess.
m i '
W v. , .„i.j ocj t-fj'ii. 1 ■ idb; oen-o
1 lie
College of Medicine
Presents
The University Lecture Series
Exploring the Chemistry of
Live Cells with the
Digital Imaging Microscope
Fredric S. Fay, Ph.D.
University oi Massachusetts Medical Center
Worcester, Massachusetts
March 25, 1992, 4:00 PM
Lecture Hall 2
Reynolds Medical Building